PLA 2014 - Recapping trends, topics for changing libraries

The Public Library Association’s biennial conference was held this March in Indianapolis, and was a huge success. Some of the highlights:

--The ProQuest Genealogy Breakfast was a packed house once again, and featured several speakers, including our own Bill Forsyth.

-- According to the Examiner.com, this year more than 265 people attended the conference virtually; the humor writer David Sedaris brought the conference to a hilarious close; many sessions and events discussing the changing role of public libraries; and demand is high at most public libraries as they expand their traditional roles and offer new services.

-- The IMLS (U.S. Institute of Museum and Libraries Services) data released during the conference showed that public libraries circulated more than 2.4 billion items in 2011 – the highest in ten years.

1. Common Core – Impacts the circulation and readership of nonfiction particularly2. Library Spaces – Digital media, makerspaces, YOUmedia labs, 3D printers3. Connected Learning – Interest-based and peer-to-peer learning for teens is making a difference in planning events4. Technology Divide – Touchscreen technology and apps are not available in every home5. Technology and the Younger Child – What are the best practices for learning and teaching?6. Early Literacy – Kindergarten preparedness is a hot topic7. Advocacy – Spreading the word about library value is a challenge, with fewer resources

The next PLA will take place in Denver, April 5-9, 2016. Who knows what kind of new ideas and technologies will be developed by then!

Over 350 years of British colonial activity and its associated conflicts are documented in two ProQuest historical collections — Colonial State Papers and British Periodicals. The former presents documents pertaining to the administration of…